Mindframe

When you really think about it, the fact that you can read this sentence is nothing short of amazing. In a fraction of a second, you are able to look at a series of complicated shapes, identify each one and connect it to several possible sounds, group those sound options together into units of words, connect each word-unit to one or more possible meanings, and then based on its relative position in a sentence, convert a series of lines and curves from simple visual stimuli into an abstract idea. And you are probably able to do this while also listening to music, eating a snack, or perhaps even both. The written word is omnipresent in our modern lives, and these days it’s safe to say we take it mostly for granted. But, as Falk Huettig, Régine Kolinsky and Thomas Lachman note in their recent article, ‘ Theculturally co-opted brain: how literacy affects the human mind ,’ the very concept of rendering those ideas into a series of repeatable symbols is only about 6000 years old. ...

  Last week, we talked about how "delighters", those little extra touches, can make all the difference in sales. There’s just a few things you’ll want to remember.   1. Consider your market Just what constitutes a delighter can get a little counterintuitive. Sometimes a cheap establishment offers perks that you’d never expect to find at a ritzier place. Consider the free continental breakfasts served at most budget hotels. An extremely upscale hotel is much more likely to direct you to a (pricy) in-house restaurant. Complementary breakfast is not the norm at a deluxe resort, and so we don’t even consider it as a possibility. Delighters are all about exceeding expectations, and our expectations are not an exact science. Be sure you are offering delighters in keeping with your price point and image.   2. Consider your audience. When you check in at a Hilton hotel, the clerk behind the desk offers you a large free cookie, warmed by a microwave. For guest...